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Malawi’s country’s government, which is heavily reliant on support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Western aid money, had previously confirmed that it would no longer arrest people for same-sex sexual acts - an agreement first laid out in 2012 after a prolonged campaign.

When two men were arrested on gay sex grounds in December, Malawi’s Justice Minister has stepped in to quash the case and impose a ‘moratorium’ on gay sex convictions.

The United Nations (UN) plans to raise $1.6 billion from donors to improve agriculture, food security, health and governance in Zimbabwe between the years 2016-2020.

According to a UN resident coordinator in Zimbabwe, Bishow Palajuli, the global agency had raised US$1.64 billion for its Zimbabwe United Nations Development Assistance Framework (ZUNDAF), which started in 2012 and ends this year and is now seeking to do the same for the next four year period.

In 2013, the world came to know of two young women: Jyoti Singh Pandey from India and Anene Booysen from South Africa. Both were gang-raped, brutally attacked and died fighting for their lives. If it wasn’t for their families, outraged citizens, and civil society activists, they would today be nothing more than statistics, two digits added to the alarming number of women raped and murdered worldwide.

The South African Prisoners Organisation of Human Rights (SAPOHR) says giving inmates conjugal rights can help reduce the risks of physical and psychological violence among them.

SAPHOR was responding to issues related to prison safety in the light of recent reports which say a warder allegedly facilitated a sexual encounter between an inmate and her partner and another inmate allegedly run drug cartels from prison.

Women Parliamentarians in Zimbabwe have urged the country to promote females in politics in order to bridge the gap between them and their male counterparts who hold the bulk of positions of authority in political parties and government.

The women decried lack of media attention and accused some sections of the media of always pulling them down through stereotyped coverage which portrayed them as less influential in the administration of the country.

In a remote, deeply traditional corner of northern Tanzania, growing numbers of girls are running away from home to escape genital mutilation carried out during mass initiations.

According to girls’ rights campaigners, in the Tarime district of Mara region, bordering Kenya, the number of girls who fled these illegal rituals at the end of last year doubled to 634 from 312 the year before.

“… [men] here are more worried about getting their girlfriend pregnant than they are about HIV,” reveals a study conducted by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and International Broadcasting Trust (IBT) in Swaziland.

The study also found that traditionally, Swazi men believe they own their wives, but marriage appears to be in decline, with informal relationships and single mothers on the increase.

According to the United Nations, one in three women will be beaten, raped or abused in her lifetime, translating to one billion women who are both directly and indirectly affected by gender violence.

The gender-based violence (GBV) Indicators Study carried out by Gender Links in six countries of Southern Africa, show that the most predominant form of GBV experienced by women and perpetrated by men occurs within intimate partnerships.